In 2006 I moved to Qatar and things are not what many people in North America would expect - it is not like how the Middle East is portrayed in the media. I'm also a fan of skepticism and science so wondered how this works here in Qatar. Since I'm here for a while I figured I'd use the time to get to know this country better and with this blog you can learn along with me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - So what posts have been popular recently . . .

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Rain -- with a Vengance!

Well it rained again yesterday but this time it was a good soaking, a thunderstorm that lasted around 20-30 minutes with heavy rain. Naturally the city was flooded, with low-lying areas collecting the water in large pools. Drainage in Doha is not great, and the land is mostly hard rock with a bit of muddy sand on top so the water doesn't have anywhere to go. So there were plenty of massive puddles:

I'm used to it now, this happens every major rainstorm. Social media was lit with plenty of people sharing photos and videos of harder hit areas, where it was essentially flooded. Even saw some cars floating in the water in one of the videos. There was also flooding at some of the malls as water leaked from the ceiling, something that also seems to happen every year.

Well then things got crazy. Today there was another huge thunderstorm. I was driving when it happened and the rain was so heavy I had to pull into a parking lot and wait out the storm in my car. Even with the wipers at their fastest speed I was struggling to see through the torrential rain. The streets were turning into rivers.

It stopped after 20 minutes but given the flooding from yesterday it just compounded the problem. This time there was some shocking videos going around social media of water pouring from the ceiling of a hospital or clinic, like a small waterfall. I hope they didn't have any expensive medical equipment ruined. Low-lying areas were flooded even more so I'm sure some homes have water in them now.

Not a lot that can be done, it would cost billions of dollars and major construction headaches to upgrade the drainage across the city. Not worth it for the occasional storm.